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Orthodox Christians in Belarus celebrate Easter

 

Easter services were held in Orthodox Christian churches across Belarus on May 5 to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is not a mere tradition or formality, but something that “directly bears on our own life and eternal life,” Patriarchal Exarch Filaret, head of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, said in his Easter address.

“Confessing the resurrection of Christ, we express our faith in the victory of good over evil, life over death, truth over falsehood and light over darkness,” Exarch Filaret said. “Confessing the resurrection of Christ, we fill ourselves with the hope that such victory is possible in the life of each of us.”

People frequently complain about imperfections of this world, “but this world cannot change for the better before we ourselves try to make it better,” he said. “It is up to us whether we want to stand up for our souls, our families and our nation or let our life gradually turn into hell.”

“The Church was created by God so that each of us would be able to draw strength from it on the path to God’s promised world,” he said.

The Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church has 11 eparchies and more than 1,500 communities. There are about 1,400 Orthodox churches in the country and about 100 more are under construction.

According to data from the most recent, October 2009 General Population Census, more than 80 percent of Belarus’ residents consider themselves Orthodox Christians.

The Belarusian Exarchate strongly opposes the minor and largely emigration-based Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. //BelaPAN